If You Please
by forward belief
Summary: He is perfect, but there’s something missing from him and Sakura is slowly starting to tell. The more she learns about him the more she finds it harder to resist getting closer to him. Can Sakura enter the heart of this alluring young man? S
1. Prologue

**If You Please**

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A/N: Hello everyone! I'm a new writer, and I should be doing work but I couldn't help but write out this story. I hope you all enjoy, so please R&R! I'm not sure if I'll continue but if I get many readers I probably will!

**WARNING:** Sexual Implications and foul language may be involved throughout the story. Viewer discretion is advised.

Xiao Lang = Syaoran's Chinese name, I'll call him this until he meets Sakura probably, my hand keeps itching to write Syaoran but it makes no sense if I do since he's in China right now and hasn't been called that yet.

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Prologue

A little boy with tousled brown hair ran happily around the grassy fields. His mother sat staring sternly at him. Seeing his mother upset with his behaviour, he abruptly stopped running, still not in balance with his walking because he was still only three years old; he tripped mercilessly onto the ground scratching his hands onto the grass. Looking at the blood slowly seep out of the once invisible cuts, he felt tears stream out his eyes as he let out little sniffles. He already knew what consequences would be had he screamed like other children did and with a tint of hope and happiness as his mother came running towards him, it soon vanished seeing the scowl on his mother's face.

"What did I tell you Xiao Lang?" the mother seemed so angry and fierce; one would never think that such a beautiful lady would react in such a way, and to a child at that.

His big round amber eyes rimmed with tears stared at her innocently as she angrily grabbed his scratched little hand.

"Tell me what I told you before Xiao Lang!" She was menacing and the little boy winced under the pain. Staggering through his words through a tearful voice he replied, "Big…boys…don't cry…" he sniffled.

"Yes, you are the future heir, you are not like other children, and do you understand?" She was stern and he nodded wiping quickly his brimming tears with his sleeve dirty from the grass stain.

"If you cry again, I will not come next time to warn you, no one will come to you. As a Li, you must learn to be obedient and get through pain with a strong face, not this pathetic face!"

Holding his face she looked at him, he would truly make a fine heir. Although, his looks seemed too innocent and he was too cute, much to her liking yet disappointment. She loved him but she had to ready him for the cruel family she had married into, and as her only son, she knew he held the hardest burden after her late husband's death. She decided she would not allow him to feel warmth until he could complete his duties. Whether the choice was right or wrong, she believed it would be the right one. Looking at the innocent small face, big eyes, button nose, and little lips she felt guilty letting go of her son.

"We're leaving now." She walked ahead of him while deciding to not look back. No, she would never look back or change her decisions. He was to become self-reliant. She would not always be there to fend for him.

The little boy, with a tear streaked face looked at his hands, blood still prominently showed as more blood oozed out. Sniffling a bit, he ushered out a small apology to his mother as he tried to catch up to is mother's big steps. She turned around, a cold icy stare.

"You must fix your habits before I can forgive you." and with that she continued to walk towards their awaited limo.

Xiao Lang, age three learns never to cry.


	2. Chapter 1

**If You Please**

Chapter 1

The sun beamed onto the young boy's sleeping face, slowly, his eyes opened almost automatically. He was accustomed to waking up without an alarm clock now and strolled into the washroom. Looking at his reflection, his thirteen year old self stared sleepily at himself as he brushed and tried to comb through his unruly locks, which he inherited most likely from his father for his mother had sleek black hair.

As he walked down the steps, complete in his uniform, black ribbon bow around his neck, shorts to his knees and blue vest over a white button up shirt, it was unmistakable that he was getting prominently more handsome by day and the young maids couldn't help but exclaim to one another quietly if they were only a bit younger. Greeted by his butler Wei, he smiled at the old man. Wei had always been kind to him and truly loyal. When Xiao Lang had to go on business trips to meet future business partners he'd work with, or in other words, for his family to dote that he was a prize winning in the family, he was sure to always pick Wei to escort him. There were two people he truly trusted: his mother and Wei. But recently there was one more.

Finishing breakfast and heading towards the limo, Xiao Lang would soon see the young girl who had stolen his trust and heart. Fang-Hua, the most beautiful girl in school, with long silky black hair and round pretty eyes greeted Xiao Lang who entered the gate of the school with a regal atmosphere. They were a match made in heaven and although he never showed it on his face he loved her dearly. The first time he had met her, he treated her as he treated others, polite but at the same time cold and stoic. He was not one to get close to others.

Being home schooled prior to entering this academy, he had seen how cruel adults were and when he entered, he saw how children were just the same. Everyone wanted something out of him, they wanted the title, the money, but no one ever wanted to truly be friends with him. He refrained and was used to being alone, so it did not bother him. But she, she was different. She understood him, and on the day of his thirteenth birthday, July 13, she held him in her arms, him resting his head on her still immature chest, as she whispered to him, "You must've been lonely, you are a kind person but you have no one to show it to, please let me be the one that you can show your true self to. You are not alone because I am here." The words brought joy and tears to his eyes, the words he had wished to hear, to show someone wanted to reach out to him and it was okay for him to show weakness. He was only thirteen and still a child, wanting to show emotion and immaturity without feeling guilt, wanting to be like other children, and just that.

With the kind words and the sweet way she had opened up to him he instantly fell in love with her kindness and he believed one day he would marry her. Had he kissed her? No, he didn't dare. He still had problems getting close to people and he felt that if he had showed more emotion to her, she would for sure leave him. Despite himself, she persisted on kisses many times; being the age of puberty where hormones raged, but he refused much to her dismay. The furthest they had gone were hugs and how she'd let him rest on her lap or hug his head to her chest. He was content enough with the surrounding love but started to worry when he noticed that she wasn't.

"Why won't you kiss me Xiao Lang?" she asked one day with eyes brimmed with tears. He lightly bit his bottom lip, a habit he had inherited from holding in his tears at a young age.

"Because I'm happy enough being close to you, I do not want to do anything we will regret, and we are only thirteen." He sighed at himself. He couldn't believe how unmanly he was becoming but he just couldn't do those things to her. She was too precious to him and to taint her with his dirty mouth, he could not even think about it.

She shook her head, she knew what he was thinking and the truth was; only she knew how pure he was. The day she held him against her chest, she was hoping to provoke some hidden fire of sexual tension in him, but instead, she looked down to see his face stained with tears and sleeping quietly. She felt guilty, she didn't expect him to be a good person, but she was using him, yes, how uncanny of her, that she would not love a boy who loved her dearly. She was doing it for her father, and slowly and surely she was growing fond of him. Was there love? She wasn't sure, but she was happy she was to get this kind of guy to get her "accidentally" pregnant as she planned to in the future, because despite living without love, she at least knew she had caught someone who would love her. Strangely enough, because of her ploys from the stark beginning, she was beginning to lust after him. She wanted to see him and to touch him. The way he pushed her away with a red face marked on his handsome but boyish face made her completely even more charmed.

But many girls lusted after this boy, they were pre-teens after all and it was the age where girls and boys got over cooties and were curious with experimenting with one another. It helped that he was not only the heir to the Li family but he was gorgeously handsome, and yet his large eyes showed his innocence, many girls confused lust for love and Fang-Hua was most likely one of them.

She found out she truly had no interest in him but his money and body when she was unfazed by his homemade chocolates on the day of her birthday.

Xiao Lang waited for his mother to leave for her trip and quietly brought in the ingredients to make his homemade chocolate. He had thought long and hard of something to give to Fang-Hua that one couldn't just easily buy from the store. They were both well off and he wanted to show her how much she meant to him. He was planning the day out slowly. First, he'd present the chocolates in the shape of the heart. He'd tell her to wait there and come back with home made treats which he took the liberty of cooking himself and flowers which he had taken time in growing especially for her. The truth was if his mother knew he was doing such petty things such as cultivating flowers and cooking for a girl he would definitely be taken back to home schooling. He was being quite risky with all of this, but for her it meant nothing to him if he was punished by his elders. He would bike to school to walk her home if he had to!

He had prepared everything but on the day of her birthday the day's events were not as expected. He gave her the chocolates and she showed happiness and glee and when he told her to wait there he overheard something that was always his greatest fear. Fang-Hua was speaking to her father, saying things about how he must look down on her for giving her such a cheap gift. Upon hearing that, he gripped the basket of food and the flowers. It had taken him months to grow the flowers and weeks to prepare but now this, this was too much.

"I haven't gone beyond kissing father, but these chocolates must be a joke, he must belittle me. He doesn't ever want to show affection towards me, so these chocolates must be a hint that he doesn't care, but he's cute and rich so I'll endure it." She spoke haughtily, different from what he knew of her and then she dropped the box of chocolates into the trash can and that was enough. She heard a loud thud as he threw the picnic basket and stepped on the flowers. His face showed coldness, lifeless eyes.

"Xiao Lang!" she gasped quickly hanging up the phone as she cut off the sound of disapproval from her father on the line.

"It's not what you think! You see I was lying to him, but I really do care about you!" she was almost begging as she inched closer to him. He looked unfazed by her words, by her lies as he stared at her and then at the box of chocolates lying in the trash, she looked helpless understanding his thoughts and then he sighed, looking at the smashed flowers and the food sprawled and ruined from falling out of the basket, what a waste this was all to him now. She continued to pester on with explanations but it was if water had been poured in his ears, he heard nothing as his heart tightened and pounded quicker.

Thoughts ran through his mind, millions of thoughts he wanted to voice out to her, wanted to shout at her. Ask her why she could so easily take his heart and make it full one day and then another day easily rip his heart out and step on it. Tell her that he never touched her because he valued her and wanted to wait until he fully owned her before he would make advances. All of his thoughts were starting to make him feel sick, he felt as if he ate something bitter. The bitterness wouldn't leave and after a moment in his mind where he went blank while she rambled in the background he could only turn around and say in a quiet yet stern voice, "Happy birthday Fang-Hua…Goodbye." The goodbye was intended as a permanent farewell and as he walked he could hear her objections. Each step he took his heart slowly fell to pieces and as he entered he could see Wei frown as they drove off. On the ride home, he sat there silently, a usual expression as if nothing had happened. He had trained to not cry so he showed no emotion as he watched the moving view of the sidewalk from the car window. He was strong and stern, but the truth was, inside he could hear his heart shatter and the aching pain of wanting to suffocate came. It was too much, it hurt more being alone now then it did before, so in his mind he cursed her for deceiving him and somehow he felt his feelings become more guarded as he understood that no one could ever love him for who he was and only for what he was. Suddenly, he couldn't help but believe that he was probably very ugly and that the mere idea that someone could love him now made him laugh.

Xiao Lang, age thirteen, learns never to trust or love anyone.

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A/N: Sakura hasn't appeared yet! Our heroine must save our hero from this! She'll probably come within the next chapter for all of you people wanting fluff now! ^^

Please be patient and yes R&R, it always makes me happy to know there are readers.


	3. Chapter 2

**If You Please**

Chapter 2

Chestnut locks blew in the wind, Xiao Lang let out a hearty laugh as he pulled on the reins of his horse to slow her down.

"Good girl!" Xiao Lang exclaimed as she came to a complete stop and let out a grunt.

Xiao Lang jumped off of her side petting her head and withers as the horse exhaled seemingly happy for the reward. As he petted her forehead she nuzzled his face making him let out a yelp of laughter out of surprise.

"Zhen Juan!" he laughed as he jokingly nuzzled back.

How beautiful these times were when he was with his horse, Zhen Juan, he wanted these times to remain forever, but alas they were always short and abrupt. He scowled looking at the sky once bright and looked down at his watch. Unfortunately, the day had come to an end and Xiao Lang found himself once again riding the horse that now trotted slowly towards home.

As the horse walked he took a deep breath too afraid to blink. He wanted to absorb the image of these trails, these secret trails that he believed only Zhen Juan and himself knew. This was his Utopia that he had created for himself. It was one of the things that kept him going. After the Li Clan had taken so much away from him, his love for archaeology, his wish to make his own choices and to move freely as his own person, Zhen Juan was the only thing he could keep and protect.

His trips with her liberated him, took him away from that suffocating house that he could slowly see within his view. The content expression was now long gone, a stern expression now ridden upon his face, it was not feigned but almost automatic now. In truth, he was sad; it would be a year from now that he would be able to ride her again.

He was prepared for all of this. His life had been planned since the day he had entered the world, so when the elders called upon him on his eighteenth birthday, he was not at all surprised that they ordered him to attend a school in Japan in order to create relations with their businesses. Being Xiao Lang, he complied, no questions, the details would be given on a date closer to his leave and he left it at that.

There hadn't been anything new to the deal, he wasn't astonished that he had to go to Japan for a year, he had studied the language hard at a young age, struggled to learn and read the kanji when he was only in elementary, so what had bewildered him?

He couldn't believe it himself, but he really didn't want to leave home. Although the life was cruel and harsh it was the only life he had known. He had learned to make compromise with it, and the thought of leaving his horse was the worst feeling of all.

Before locking the horse into the stall, he petted her, scratched her, and fed the horse a carrot much to his happiness.

"I'll miss you Zhen Juan, you must be a good girl while I'm gone. I'll come back though, I promise." he smiled as he nuzzled against her and sadly withdrew from her. She replied making a noise. He smiled at her peculiarly, wondering if she really understood what was going on or if she just wanted another carrot.

Leaving the stalls, he walked towards the mansion. In all its glory and beauty, it was one of the places Xiao Lang semi-disliked but yet it was still home. He felt somewhat chained there, restricted, but there was nothing worse than when he had to stay with the elders at the main house. No one would believe the responsibilities he had taken in his life and the lost of a childhood and the years of teenage rebellion long gone. He had grown up too fast, had to become an adult too soon. Now reaching the age of nineteen was only one year ahead of him. He would soon have to be completely chained by the Li name, no longer known as Xiao Lang but as an heir to all of what the Li's owned.

In a story, it would seem like a fairytale, like he was some kind of prince, rich and handsome. But the harsh reality was that these things came with a price, and the price was only something Xiao Lang could understand.

He had long entered the mansion and was now standing in the washroom completely bare. Before entering the bath, he looked up to see a reflection of himself in the mirror and then quickly looked away and entered the shower. One could see that Xiao Lang had grown up to be a magnificent man. Broad shoulders, toned muscles nicely tanned from years of training. His face was the definition of handsome, a nice jaw line, large eyes, and a high nose. He was a fine young man indeed. But for Xiao Lang, he looked at himself in self loath; the heartbreak at the age of thirteen with Fang Hua had scarred him for life. Although many girls had followed him, he could only believe that they wanted his title or money, and for the most part they did.

Walking downstairs in his now formal attire, he could see Wei at the bottom of the stairs.

"Master Li, your luggage is ready." He said respectfully.

"Thank you." Xiao Lang replied and smiled. For a moment Wei seemed hesitant.

"Is something the matter?" Xiao Lang inquired, curious as to what had made his butler seemingly uncomfortable.

Hesitantly he replied, "I apologize Master Li, and I do know you requested this, but are you sure you do not need me to accompany you this time?"

"I am sure Wei, you do not need to worry, tomorrow is your grandson's birthday and if I'm away you will have more time with your family. I am only sad that I will be unable to attend your grandson's wonderful day. Expect to receive gifts from me tomorrow. I have already prepared to have them be sent straight to your daughter's home." Xiao Lang smiled at the man before him. He was so old now but he worked well and Xiao Lang refused to replace him when his family told him he was unfit to be a butler after dropping juice constantly all over him. He always seemed apologetic but was always sincere and when Xiao Lang asked if he wished to leave, Wei had shown he truly loved working at the Li Mansion as Xiao Lang's butler. Xiao Lang understood why the butler stayed and decided he would feel happier if the butler could enjoy himself more with his own family.

"Understood." Wei replied, he had watched the young boy grow through such harsh conditions, so different than his own children, and yet Xiao Lang had always shown him a pure smile and had always found time to visit his own grandchildren with the secret intention of allowing him to be near his own family from time to time.

'This boy is too kind. I only wish he can somehow find true happiness and not just a life of compromise.' Wei thought sadly.

"Xiao Lang!" Yelan called, and Wei watched as the young man before him quickly stiffened and walked quickly towards the living room where his mother stood.

"My son." She said as he entered. "You will follow the orders of your elders once they start contacting you, understood?"

"Yes mother." It was an automatic response.

"If there is anything you need, call me, and…be careful." Yelan looked away from her son, eyes closed. His eyes widened a bit and he allowed himself a small smile. It was a rare occurrence when he saw his mother's kindness, and even though he feared her, he loved her and happily took any kindness she showed close to his heart.

"Thank you mother, I must leave now." He slightly bowed and turned to leave. No hugs, no "I love you's", this was the most affection they had shown towards one another.

She watched his now broad back, and in her mind she saw the three year old Xiao Lang's back and the only thing she could think of then and now was; his back view showed much loneliness.

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Large green eyes stared at the classroom door, running as fast as she could, her auburn hair bounced when she hopped into the classroom, and as her feet landed onto the tiled ground the school bell rung allowing herself to let out the word, "Safe!"

Greeted by a chuckle by her friend, she collapsed onto her seat dropping her school bag harshly onto the floor. She could only grin back at the girl with amethyst eyes, showing her satisfaction in herself for coming on time.

"That was close Sakura! But Terada Sensei seems to be late himself today." exclaimed her friend still chuckling at her friend's hair tousled in a very much silly way.

"That means I could have slept in today!" she exhaustively replied to her friend messing her hair with her fingers trying to regain composure.

Sakura was a simple girl, pretty yes, graceful, not so much. It had been three weeks into the school year and she had already had more than enough lates in her attendance record to last her a year.

Rummaging through her bag, she was taken aback realizing she had forgotten her wallet. Looking sheepishly at her friend she sadly asked, "Tomoyo…do you have some spare change?"

"I don't have money on me today, but if it's lunch you're worried about I have enough for the both of us!" Tomoyo said happily.

"Yay, th.." before she could properly thank her best friend from saving her from starving she could hear Terada's strict voice.

"Class settle down!" The whole class turned towards the front.

"Good morning class, I apologize for this morning's delay, but today I have some good news!"

Terada's voice seemed too happy and the class could only start groaning thinking he was going to announce a ridiculous pop quiz they would all be sure to fail.

"Quiet down!" Everyone ceased their groans immediately.

"There is no test if that's what you're thinking, instead we'll be having a new student joining us." The class automatically perked up, whispers could be heard.

"He's a foreign student from Hong Kong. Li Syaoran, you may enter." Everyone seemed curious as to who was going to enter and as he stepped into the classroom whispers grew.

Sakura stared, feeling as if time had stopped seeing him walk through the door. He was handsome, that was for sure but for some reason she couldn't look away and watched him intently, almost paralyzed. She felt a slight blush creep onto her cheeks and unknowing to her, Tomoyo had caught Sakura's reaction before she quickly shook it off. Her heart skipped a beat for a second and she almost criticized herself.

'Sakura, do not fall for his looks! He's probably arrogant because of them, just like every other guy.' She told herself proudly. Although, her body decided to not listen to her mind since she continued to stare at him anyway.

Xiao Lang stared at the students before him; he had almost forgotten who Li Syaoran was when the teacher called him. Syaoran was the name he was to go by in Japan and the whole setting baffled him quite a bit. In a way it felt as if he was given a new identity and staring at the students before him, he felt a tad bit nervous.

"Hello, I am Li Syaoran. I look forward to my time in Japan." He did a slight bow.

He was simple and graceful, many girls quietly giggled while some guys scowled, feeling a source of competition.

"Kinomoto Sakura!" Terada called out.

"Yes!" Sakura replied obediently.

"Alright you may take the empty seat behind her." Terada was polite and Xiao Lang nodded in appreciation to finally get out of the lime light.

Walking towards his seat, he noticed a pair of emerald eyes watching him and as he walked towards his chair, he couldn't help but think that her eyes were very pretty and gave her a small smile. Her eyes widened, taking his smile as a hint, she quickly pretended to look out of the window. Somewhat embarrassed for being caught staring she only hoped he could not hear her heart beating from behind her.

Tomoyo looked only all too knowing at her friend grinning, it was the first time she had seen Sakura react in such a way, besides her elementary crush which was years ago, Sakura never showed the least bit of interest in anyone and here she was witnessing it before her very own eyes. She stared at her friend who was still facing the window and then at the boy intently listening to the lecture and once again smiled.

'This is going to be interesting.' She thought to herself.

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**A/N: Yes Sakura is here! And who doesn't love the all clever Tomoyo who is all scheming! But oh the drama that lies ahead!!**

**Also, thank you reviewers and to the people who added me to their alerts. I always feel encouraged to write this story after seeing all of your lovely comments. Thank you very much!**

**Note: **

**- Zhen Juan means Precious or Beautiful.**

**- Characters are now 18 years old!**


	4. Chapter 3

**If You Please**

Chapter 3

His smile replayed in her mind. A week had passed since he had first stepped into their classroom and although she had believed that she could pretty much figure out anyone's character just by looking at them, she was surprised to find he was the exact opposite of what she had expected.

It was no doubt that with his looks he would become popular, and although he had many chances to, it was almost as if he had purposely remained to himself. His introverted nature allowed him little friends and she could often see him sitting alone on top of a tree branch during lunch hours. He declined many girls along with many clubs all too politely, and soon after, the commotion about him died down. Sakura, who had taken an unconscious interest in him, had constantly taken notice of him. One of the strangest things that she realized about him was that she had never seen him smile, apart from their first meeting, where she now realized that his smile was in fact a rarity.

She began to yearn to see that smile again, it was kind and he looked handsomely adorable. She often watched him to see if she could catch it again, but she never did, much to her disappointment. He usually had either a stern or calm look, his type of personality intrigued her and she had hoped to approach him, only, she didn't quite know how.

At the rate things were going, it seemed as though the two of them would be unlikely to cross paths. But fate liked to play tricks and one day, as she was heading home, she decided to take a detour and walk near Tomoeda's river trail. Sakura had always had a small problem of being a bit clumsy and without watching her step; she tripped over a rock and felt her body losing balance. Squeezing her eyes together and letting out a yelp as she was ready to hit a hard collision. Unexpectedly, the fall had not hurt. Slowly opening her eyes she realized she hadn't fully sunk into the water and then soon she came to understand that she was sitting on someone's lap and leaning against their chest. The uniform of her saviour was the one from her school, looking up at his face she gasped seeing remarkable amber eyes, and quickly got off of him. When had he broken her fall and why? She couldn't understand but she was much too baffled to even think.

"Thank you so much Li-san, I'm so sorry for sitting on you..." her face grew red with each word.

"Don't worry about me, are you ok?" he said this with concern which made her feel shy in his presence. He was such a gallant young man.

"I'm fine, thank you for breaking my fall," she now inspected him closely and let out a gasp. He was soaking wet and his hand seemed to be somewhat cut, probably when he covered her head from hitting one of the rocks. She felt somewhat moved, he didn't even know her but he had kindly saved her.

"You're hurt," she frowned, "I live nearby, let me bandage it for you and you can change your clothes."

"Oh no, you don't have to worry or go through that trouble..."

"Nonsense!" she cut him off, "You're going to catch a cold! Let me at least do this much for someone who just saved me from a really painful fall." She showed sincerity in her words and after much persistence he complied and quietly walked beside her to her home.

"I really don't want to trouble your family," he said quietly. The more he spoke the more surprising his personality was to her. He seemed shy yet conserved. From an outwards appearance, he looked cool and unapproachable, someone who easily had people who worshipped or fawned over them, and yet he didn't show any inclination of such an arrogant air to him at all. His voice was a strong and deep voice, one that many girls would find sexy and yet he spoke very modestly. Something she had never expected.

"Don't worry about troubling my family, I only live with my Dad and he's really nice. He won't mind, especially since you saved me after all!"

"That was nothing, really. Are you an only child?" he seemed curious about her now, or at least interested in what she had to say and somehow she felt pleased.

"No, I have an older brother but he moved out last year. Do you have any siblings?" she inquired this in order to keep the conversation from dying.

He nodded, "I have a few sisters."

"Oh, no brothers? How many sisters do you have?" she was now a bit curious herself.

"Four," he said quietly and seemingly embarrassed.

"Four! Oh wow! Are they older or younger?" she was wide-eyed.

"All older," he replied even more hushed than before.

She smiled at him, "that must be nice; I've always wanted an older sister, how do they like Japan?"

"They didn't come with me; they are still in Hong Kong."

"Are you here by yourself?" she frowned, 'how lonely,' she thought as he did a slight nod.

The conversation ended, he was still very intimidating to her and she feared of sounding dim-witted around him. Deciding to remain silent, she began to analyze his face. His brown locks of hair fell messily over his wonderful eyes, his face was handsome and at the same time he looked clever and refined. The way he intently watched the paths of the road showed he was the type who silently observed and although they both were walking at the same pace, she somehow felt they were in two different worlds. Reaching her house relieved her from the aggravating silence and she spoke cheerfully, "Well we're here, so you can take off your shoes and I'll go get you a set of clothes."

He nodded again and entered her house. It was a good size, the house seemed cozy, and the yellow painted walls made the room seem bright and warm. He sneezed, shaking a bit unused to being cold, and seemed grateful when Sakura returned with a set of new clothes which most likely belonged to her father.

"Alright, the bath is ready, I barely got wet, and so you can go on in first. I'll go tell my dad you're here." She smiled at him again and ushered him into the washroom.

Shivering still from the cold, he entered the washroom and closed the door behind him. It was a small washroom. The tiles were white and the walls were once again painted yellow. Before he could analyze the room anymore, he decided it would be best to take a shower first. Stripping off his drenched clothes that stuck icky to his body, he allowed the water to warm his body. It had been a while since he had relaxed since coming to Japan. The girl that had kindly invited him over seemed polite and her emerald eyes were truly spectacular. When he saw her fall, his body somehow moved instinctively and he was quite surprised when he saw two innocent emerald eyes stare widely at him. She was pretty, yes, but it was her homely nature that eased him. Even her house put him in comfort, the type of feeling he had never known. His first few days had been quiet and the elders hadn't contacted him yet. Living on his own without any orders were all new to him and he found himself feeling liberated but at the same time he knew his true life would return as soon as he would receive their orders. He didn't want to get too comfortable here, he only had one year here anyway, but somehow this girl sent him an unfamiliar warm feeling and at this moment in time, he hadn't yet realized how much he enjoyed her company.

She smiled at the shut washroom door, from meeting him today, she couldn't help but think he was a really nice person and his humble attitude made her take an even greater interest in him more than she had before.

Slowly prying her eyes off the door, she walked towards her father`s study room.

"Father, I`m home!" she called opening the door.

Her father was a well known archaeologist and although he was constantly busy with his excavations, he always found time for her. He was a kind and warm hearted father. Her mother passed away while giving birth to her and he had raised her all on his own along with her older brother. He was kind and after her mother's death, he never once looked again to remarry, always putting his children first.

"Welcome home Sakura. I heard you speaking to someone downstairs. Did you bring over a classmate?"

"Oh yes, I was close to falling into the neighbourhood pond and he saved me by blocking me from the fall. Dad, is it okay if he stays for dinner? He told me he doesn't live with anyone, it's getting late now, and I know he has tons of homework assigned from today."

He smiled, "That's fine, are you hurt anywhere though?" Her father's face showed worry.

"Oh no I'm fine, but I think his hand was bleeding a little, I'm going to bandage it for him once he's finished in the shower."

"He sounds like a nice person; I'll have to personally thank him."He said with a grateful tone.

The door to the study had been left wide open, and hearing the voices, the chestnut haired boy peeked his head in before entering.

"Hello, I'm Kinomoto Fujitaka, thank you for saving my daughter today. I see my clothes are a bit small for you." He spoke in a pleasant tone.

Xiao Lang blushed tugging the t-shirt which seemed a bit tight on him. He quickly bowed to the older man and said, "I am Li Syaoran, sorry for the intrusion." His voice and nature had remained calm, but he was quite embarrassed. Never had he been introduced to someone's father in such an awkward way. He was even wearing the man's clothes and worst of all they were quite uncomfortably tight. He couldn't help but unconsciously try to hide his body by hugging his own soiled clothes against his chest. Although he was feeling awkward, the name Kinomoto Fujitaka sounded familiar to him and caused him to stare at the man in wonder. Where had he heard such a name before? It was so familiar yet he didn't recall meeting a Japanese business man with that name. Surely if he was a partner with the Li Corporation he would live in a much larger house rather than this one. Then it dawned on him, that that name was written on all of his archaeology books he had collected when he was young, could this man possibly be—

"I'm sorry, but are you Kinomoto Fujitaka who is a famous archaeologist and has written a series of novels and textbooks?" his voice was evident with slight anticipation, although he had still spoken in a calm voice.

"Why yes, I am."He smiled, pleased someone so young knew of him.

It was him, the archaeologist who he had looked up to since he was ten; the Li Clan had taken away this hobby of his at the age of fourteen. He had been forbidden to read any of the archaeology books he had owned and all of them were taken away to be disposed of. They told him that the future heir did not need to spend time doing useless things and when he said it helped him in reading and writing Japanese, it only angered them more that he had tried to protect something they were against. They would not hear of their heir dreaming of being an archaeologist! Even though the loss of something he loved to do hurt him at the time and made him feel even more chained and bound by the Li name, the joys he had felt when reading the books written by Kinomoto-san he could never forget.

"I am a huge fan of yours, I love reading your books. They are all so well written and very interesting. I used to have trouble with Japanese kanji so I would choose all of your books to practice. They were so good and your excavations sound very exciting!" His face had lit up, he showed enthusiasm and he had a childish smile on his face. Even he was startled at how happy he sounded, he hadn't heard himself speak out loud like this to anyone before and he felt his cheeks grow slightly red.

Sakura looked at him surprised, this was the second time she had seen him smile and more importantly, she had never heard him speak that much or that enthusiastically. He was usually calm when he spoke in class but the way he sounded now was nice and she giggled a bit as his cheeks grew a shade darker.

"I'm surprised someone your age is a fan of mine, since today is late, why don't you come by tomorrow and I'll show you some of the things I've brought back from my excavations? Also, would you like to stay for dinner, it's getting late now and I would like to speak more with the person who saved my daughter today."

It was strange how things had ended up so suddenly. Sakura had finished helping Xiao Lang bandage his hand and she was now watching her father and Xiao Lang conversing about things she barely knew of. They both sounded highly educated and both spoke with strange terminology, which made her feel slightly left out. He, who never spoke in school, was now talking excitedly to her father and was eating dinner in their house to boot. It was all too surreal and she just never would have thought that she would be sitting this near to him or seeing such a different side to him. She liked it though, he was cool in school, quiet and aloof, handsome and sexy, but here he was, childish and friendly. His eyes brightened listening to her father's stories, the eyes of a child who would listen intently to a fairytale, and his smile was so handsome. If he could speak this happily to her father, why did he seem so unapproachable otherwise?

Dinner went by fast, and somehow Sakura found herself walking Xiao Lang to the corner of the sidewalk. The awkward silence had befallen them once more and as Sakura tried hard of thinking of a topic, Xiao Lang silently cursed himself. He had absolutely let his guard down. The clan was right, having hobbies made you into another person, he wasn't supposed to be excited about things, he was supposed to remain stern and serious, but meeting Fujitaka had been a dream for him for so long and better yet Fujitaka had said he could come over anytime and even help him out as an assistant when he was available. He was even invited to come over tomorrow to see some of the artifacts Fujitaka had taken home. He was happy, too happy, it had been a long time since he had felt any enjoyment in life, but the odd look Sakura had given him made him feel more and more discomfited. He had shown a side of himself he had left behind four years ago. He was even surprised at himself, but in some way or another, he felt content.

The walk was silent; both deep in thought, Sakura was still deciding on something to stir a conversation but each question she thought of all seemed to lead to a dead end. Finally, Xiao Lang broke the silence.

"Um, hey..."his voice was small, feeling once again ill at ease.

"Yes?!" she was looking at him not really knowing what to expect but just happy he had thought of something to say for she was failing miserably.

"I was wondering, since I'm coming over tomorrow, w-would, I-I mean should we walk home together tomorrow?" He spoke with his head turned and his face had gone beet red. Why exactly was he stammering and why was his heart beating so fast? He was asking if they could walk home together just like they did today. It was nothing to get all weird over. It was true that he had never walked a girl home from school, speaking such words was like speaking alien to him and he felt more and more small as he waited for her answer. He was close in backing down in his offer when she replied, "I would love that!" and grinned. He looked at her smile and slightly felt his heart increase its speed.

She was very shocked hearing him; he wanted to walk home with her? To add onto that, he had asked so adorably, like a little boy asking a young girl out and this made her stomach fill with butterflies. She was beginning to realize that he was very adorable and indeed a very kind person. In the back of her mind she still marvelled at how cool he could be one moment and how utterly adorable he could be the next. How could she have ever thought that such a person was arrogant and cold? Her impression of him at school was so different but for the moment she was just too happy with what he had just said, replaying his words in her mind, and leaving her insecurities about him aside, she could only bask in her small happiness.

Regaining his calm nature he replied, "I'll wait for you after class and we can head home. Thanks for having me for dinner." He bowed and left.

From the sweet shy boy he returned to the usual mysterious gentleman as they said their goodbyes. She watched his retreating figure from behind and a small smile appeared once again on her face. She was definitely starting to like him and today she had finally gotten to know many more sides to him than she had wished for. The night was now getting chilly so Sakura turned and quickly sprinted back to her home.

These two young adults still hadn't realized why they felt so happy around one another, soon many things would befall them both, things that would be both happy and sad.

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**A/N:** **Alright! The two are finally interacting! Thanks again for the favourites, alerts, and reviews. They all matter to me and help me to write the story. I'm really happy to know many of you are enjoying and following this story. **

**These few weeks have been tough for me, my grandpa passed away so the family has been in great depression. We're slowly recovering and moving on. So thanks for those of you for your patience!**

**Note: I'm going to stick with calling him Xiao Lang in narration because he was introduced that way and it makes no sense to change it now. If I do interchange in narration...lol well then I must really want to call him Syaoran...**


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